How "Anxious Generation" author Jonathan Haidt took on Big Tech Jonathan Haidt created a movement around protecting the "anxious generation" from the harms of social media. Now, his work has fueled a global push to ban kids from these platforms. Will it work?
TED Radio Hour
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How "Anxious Generation" author Jonathan Haidt took on Big Tech

KIDS & SCREENS - HAIDT

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(L-R) TED Curator Chris Anderson interviews Jonathan Haidt, TED Learning Wednesdays, November 2, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Esiwahomi Ozembhoya / TED

(L-R) TED Curator Chris Anderson interviews Jonathan Haidt, TED Learning Wednesdays, November 2, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Esiwahomi Ozembhoya / TED Esiwahomi Ozembhoya / TED/TED Conference, LLC hide caption

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Esiwahomi Ozembhoya / TED/TED Conference, LLC

Part 1 of TED Radio Hour episode Did social media break a generation — or just change it?

Jonathan Haidt created a movement around protecting the "anxious generation" from the harms of social media. Now, his work has fueled a global push to ban kids from these platforms. Will it work?

About Jonathan Haidt

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University's Stern School of Business and the author of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness and The Amazing Generation: Your guide to fun and freedom in a screen-filled world, which he co-wrote with Catherine Price.

Haidt studies how social media has contributed to the decline of teen mental health. His other areas of interest include intuitive foundations of morality and the rise of political dysfunction. Haidt's other books include The Happiness Hypothesis, The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind.

About Maximilian Milovidov

Maximilian Milovidov is a youth online safety advocate and an undergraduate at Columbia University. He is a member of the TikTok Youth Council and an ambassador for the 5Rights Foundation. He serves as a youth ambassador for the WK Kellogg Foundation, People vs. Big Tech and as a youth advisor for Digitalem.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Katie Monteleone and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.

Web Resources

Related TED Talk: Are smartphones ruining childhood?

Related TED Talk: Parenting in the digital age

Related TED Talk: 3 fears about screen time for kids — and why they're not true

Related NPR Links

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Shots: It's time to screen all kids for anxiety, physicians' task force recommends

Life Kit: When It Comes To Screens, Kids Need A Guide — Not A Disciplinarian

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